PROCUREMENT TRANSFORMATION
“ Today , we ’ re at the frontline with the C suite team , really influencing the bottom line ”
— Crithica Parthasarathy , IBM Procurement Services Practice Lead
18 need to be on top of this trend to enable our organisations ,” he explains , adding that this will mean a more connected approach . “ Working independently isn ’ t the way forward in my view . Collaboration and the ability to engage with other organisations within procurement as well as other industries will enable both parties to elevate and explore different things .”
With evolution of the procurement professionals vital to ensure the ability to cope with the ever-changing procurement sector , it ’ s become important to not only harness knowledge of the sector but also to develop softer skills to achieve success . “ To me , relationship building is the core ,” says Satija . “ There ’ s the traditional idea of having a strong IQ , but you also have to have a very strong EQ to be successful . It ’ s all about connecting .”
“ To be a successful procurement practitioner first of all requires the right soft skills , in terms of stakeholder engagement , ability to positively manage conflict , enabling and influencing teams ,” adds Safwat . “ This goes hand in hand with technical skillsets . CIPS , for example , offers a
JUNE 2019